Ja Morant On An NBA Announcement: 'That Time Will Come'

Murray State's Ja Morant is a projected top-3 pick in the NBA Draft but is holding off on making an announcement about his future. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ja Morant is a projected top-3 pick in this year's NBA Draft, but the Murray State star will hold off on announcing his future plans for the moment.

"That time will come," Morant said Saturday after going for 28 points as No. 12 Murray State was thumped, 92-60, by No. 4 Florida State in the NCAA Tournament in Hartford, Conn. "My focus is not on that right now. It's just celebrating what a great season we had with my teammates."

Morant was an unknown in high school and on the AAU circuit, and even Kentucky coach John Calipari said he had never heard of him before he came to college.

"I hadn't, but it's not like I was as an assistant where I knew every player," Calipari said when I asked him about Morant at the NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. "I don't know who we're recruiting. So no, I didn't, but what a run he's having, and how good is that for Murray. And I don't know if you know the story, that he committed to Murray, and when everybody figured out how good he was, some other Power Fives tried to jump in there and say, we're offering you a scholarship, and he says, nope, I'm going right to these people. They were there, they've been there from the beginning, and what a great story, and what a great thing for Murray."

At the South Carolina event, Kane called Murray State coach Matt McMahon and told him the kid was a future pro, and he needed to come down and see him for himself.

Now Morant is on the bring of becoming an NBA Draft pick. He has until April 22 to declare for the Draft.

"You see all of the talent and ability out on the floor and how he makes everyone better, but he's got some of those intangibles that really separate him," McMahon said. "He loves to play. He's just a relentless competitor. He's tough and he's a winner. His growth as a leader this year was a big key in the success we were able to have."

Even after a loss that likely ended his college career, Morant went back onto the court at the XL Center to give a young fan a pair of his shoes.

"I look back to when I was 19, I couldn't have done it," McMahon said of the way Morant has carried himself. "It's amazing the way he's handled it and just a great credit to him and his family."